And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

~ Luke 22:31-32

Unfortunately, just like in the days of Simon Peter and Jesus, Satan is alive and well on planet earth. Guess what? Just like he desired to sift Peter like wheat, he longs to rip us to shreds. You might say his plan is to make Christians into 'shredded wheat'! Fortunately for us, in the same way Jesus prayed for Simon Peter, He is also praying for all believers.

According to 1 John 2:1, we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. When we sin, Jesus is praying for us. When we stumble, He is upholding us before the Father. When the devil shoots his fiery arrows or accuses us of wrongdoing, Christ is right there to defend us.

Do you think the prayers of the Son of God go unanswered? I don't think so! The Father hears the prayers of His Son on our behalf.

Think about that for a moment. There are times in all of our lives when we struggle. Like Peter, we stumble and fall in our relationship with Christ. Yet He will never leave us or forsake us! In fact, when we are at our worst, Christ is at His best. He is constantly pleading grace before our Heavenly Father to help us.

Perhaps today you are going through a tough time. It could be the consequences of sin, a family struggle or a broken relationship. Possibly you're catching flak because of your witness for Christ on campus, or it might be that you're just plain discouraged.

Take courage in one awesome truth. Someone is praying for you. Someone is passionately upholding you before the throne of the King. Someone knows your struggle and is articulating it before the Father better than you ever could. Someone cares. That someone is Jesus: the Author and Finisher of our faith. So now you can pray with confidence and witness with passion, because you know that you are not fighting the battle alone. You are standing side-by-side with your Champion and Eternal Savior, Jesus Christ. He is petitioning the God of heaven and earth on your behalf.

As you bring worry, discouragement, and failures before God, remember that:

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

~ Hebrews 4:15-16

Satan may desire to make us into 'shredded wheat', but Jesus is conforming us into solid rocks! =)

- Lane Palmer